PETALING JAYA: Fighting has resumed in Gaza after the end of the temporary truce between Israel and Hamas.
And with that emerges countless graphic images – including dead bodies – with experts expecting a spike in posts and sharing of what is happening on the ground.
This is raising concern among parents and experts over what children are exposed to online.
“It is overwhelming, even for an adult like me.
“I don’t click on YouTube videos (on Gaza) because it is just so heartbreaking, so I can’t imagine an innocent child having to see this,” said consultant paediatrician and neonatologist Datuk Dr Musa Mohd Nordin.
Research since the war started on Oct 7 shows children are able to easily access these graphic images on social media platforms and are consequently bombarded with more explicit content by the algorithms.
A cursory search showed more Palestinian images were available even during the seven-day truce as Israel focused its attack on the occupied West Bank.
Pointing to the social media algorithms and user engagement role, Communications and Multimedia Content Forum of Malaysia (Content Forum) chief executive officer Mediha Mahmood agrees there appears to be a significant increase of graphic images and videos depicting the violence, death and destruction in Gaza.
”While social media platforms may have policies against violent or graphic content, enforcing these policies can be challenging due to the sheer volume of user- generated content. Some content may slip through the moderation process, leading to unintended exposure.
“We should be concerned over children easily accessing such graphic images and sharing them among themselves.
“There are well-researched and widely-accepted reasons why violent movies and other content are flagged as inappropriate for children and not suitable for their cognitive and emotional development,” she said.
Child health experts like Dr Musa have said that children who are exposed to graphic imagery from the Gaza war zone could potentially suffer from emotional distress and childhood trauma, which could lead to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) if not handled swiftly and appropriately.Clinical psychologist Dr Sam Jeng Mun also suggested that children may become anxious and fearful for their safety and those around them, or even become aggressive.
“It can make them question what this world is doing and why everybody is doing this to each other,” she said.
Both of them said that is why it is important that parents screen what their children are seeing, whether on social media or even on the news.
Parent Action Group for Education Malaysia (PAGE) chairperson Datin Noor Azimah Abdul Rahim also concurred that parents should try to limit access to these images where possible.
“Nonetheless, parents can reason with their children as to the historical aspect of the war and why it has escalated to this point.”
When discussing this matter with their children, parents must be careful with their explanation while providing a safe space for the children to express their emotions and thoughts fully, the experts said.
This would also be a good opportunity for parents to teach their children about good moral values and to prioritise global peace, said Dr Musa.
“Watching together as a family helps to instil confidence in them and (parents should) offer an explanation of what’s happening and a sense of safety,” he said.
However, if this does not work and the children continue to exhibit unusual behaviour, experts pointed out it would be prudent to seek professional help.
On their part, the Malaysian Communication and Multimedia Commission said they work closely with platform providers to ensure that harmful content that violates the platform’s community standards and Malaysian laws is taken down.
Relevant enforcement agencies will also take appropriate action against any offenders based on their monitoring or complaints received.
